Heart Attack: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Perhaps you are going through your day—be it work, being with friends, or with family—when it happens: all of a sudden, you feel as if something very heavy is sitting on your chest. You find your breathing somewhat difficult. You break out into a cold sweat and feel lightheaded, feeling as though gravity has stopped working. Is it just regular stress or something more serious? A heart attack may often appear out of the blue—sometimes the symptoms are not so tragic and not so blatant as one would think.

What if, however, perhaps you could understand the warnings well ahead of time before it effectively is too late? What if familiarizing yourself with heart attack causes, symptoms, and treatment could determine the difference between one’s life or death?

Millions of people all over the world die each year from heart attacks, with many of these deaths avoidable or treatable if they were just dealt with promptly. In this blog, we will offer you a complete guide and competency on everything you could potentially know regarding heart attacks—how to recognize the symptoms, what causes these symptoms, and what the life-saving models involved are.

The knowledge of what to do in the time of a heart attack is extremely beneficial to one, regardless of whether you might be looking to understand your health, to want to do whatever it takes to minimize risks, or to be a helping hand to someone seeking aid.

Let us now provide you with the ability to act fast, remain calm, and possibly save the life, all in all, beginning with your being saved first.

What is a heart attack?

A heart attack happens as blood flow becomes severely reduced to a part of the heart muscle – is an ever-critical event that can threaten life quite seriously. Mostly such heart attack occurs due to plaque buildups, which are made of fat, cholesterol, and other substances, all collected within the coronary arteries. When that plaque ruptures, a blood clot may form in it, subsequently occluding blood flow.

What exactly happens during a heart attack?

In the absence of oxygenated blood, heart muscle begins to sustain damage, and unless treated quickly, parts of that heart may start to die. The longer blood flow is obstructed, the greater the chances of either permanent heart damage or death.

An emergency must be attended to without delay. In case any symptoms, such as chest pain, agony, or a squeezing feeling in arms, jaw, or back, or something of this nature, experienced by someone nearby, you should call EMS. Every second matters here, a delay of a few minutes may be the difference between life and death.

Signs and Symptoms

Heart attacks cause severe chest pain, some people describe it as a feeling of discomfort, a pressure sensation, or even a very heavy sensation, sometimes it can be described as a crushing pain. It may begin from the chest and radiate to the left arm (sometimes both arms), shoulder, neck, jaw, back, and down to the waist.

Some people say that symptoms of a heart attack are similar to those of indigestion or heartburn. The most important thing to note is that some people do not even feel any chest pain: just shortness of breath, nausea, sometimes even sudden sweating.

What are heart attack symptoms?

A heart attack can occur in so many different ways, some will be felt more than others. The most common ones are:

Pain in the chest (angina): discomfort, pressure, or squeezing
Shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing
Insomnia or difficulty sleeping
Nausea, upset stomach
Heart palpitations: irregular or rapid heartbeat
Anxiety or panic, maybe feel like impending doom
Lightheaded, dizzy, faint.

Differences in Symptoms Depending on Gender:

Chest pain is usually the most obvious symptom in men, and Women, on the other hand, usually do not feel chest pain. Instead, they feel:

Shortness of breath
Unexplained fatigue
Insomnia before the heart attack
Nausea and vomiting

Pain in areas like:

Back shoulders, neck, arms, or abdomen.
Recognizing these symptoms very early could save lives!

Causes

What Triggers a Heart Attack?

A heart attack, in terms of morphology known as myocardial infarction, is an abrupt interruption of blood flow to an area in the heart: a sudden blockage of blood supply to the heart’s muscle causes damage. The most common reasons for this blockade are the formation of plaques, which are sticky substances made of fat, cholesterol, and other materials, that accumulate inside the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart. This process is called atherosclerosis.

Arteries can be described as pipes, just as grease can block a kitchen sink, so too can plaque narrow or block arteries and reduce blood flow. Significant build-up typically leads to coronary artery disease (CAD), which is the principal contributor to heart attack.

The arterial plaque deposits will sometimes rupture or break open. When this occurs, clotting cells in the body called platelets immediately rush to the site of rupture. If the clot is large enough, it can completely block the artery and cut off blood supply to the heart muscle, resulting in a heart attack.

The remaining 5% of heart attacks occur without an acutely ruptured plaque. Such rare heart attacks may result from:

Coronary artery spasms — sudden narrowing of the artery, causing diminished blood flow.
Rare medical conditions — diseases causing the coronary arteries to narrow abnormally.
Trauma — physical injury causing a tear or rupture in the coronary arteries.
Embolism — blood clot or air bubble travelling from some other place in the body to the heart.
Eating disorders — prolonged malnutrition can over time weaken the heart muscle.
Congenital heart defects — abnormal coronary artery placement from birth.
Other factors — Conditions causing extremely low blood pressure, lack of oxygen, or very rapid heart rate may also diminish blood supply to the heart.

What Increases Your Risk of a Heart Attack?

Several factors play a role in whether or not you might have a heart attack. some factors are outside your control, while others relate to lifestyle and health decisions.

Uncontrollable Risk Factors:

Age and sex:

In men, enriched risk factors start after 45.
In women, the risk factor starts to increase from 50 and after menopause.

Family history:

Their risk goes up greatly if heart disease or heart attack has affected a close family member(such as a parent or sibling)who was relatively young:

Men: High risk if a family member had heart disease below 55.
Women: Increased risk if it happened before 65.

Risk Factors Related to Lifestyle:

Your daily habits are very significant when it comes to heart health:

Smoking — damages blood vessels, decreases the oxygen in the blood, and increases blood pressure.
Unhealthy diet — eating foods high in fat, sugar, or salt can increase the chance of plaque buildup in the arteries.
Lack of exercise — physical inactivity causes the heart to weaken and contributes to obesity.
Excessive alcohol — raises blood pressure and can harm the heart muscle.
Drug abuse — especially stimulants like cocaine, may trigger heart attacks.

Health Conditions That Raise Risk:

Some conditions can put added pressure on your heart and increase the risk:

Diabetes — high blood sugar damages the arteries over time. obesity — puts strain on the heart and increases the level of cholesterol in the blood.
Hypertension, high blood pressure — causes the heart to work harder to pump blood.
high cholesterol — leads to plaques laying up in the arteries.
Eating disorders – prolonged way of attaining malnutrition can lead to serious weakening of the heart.
History of preeclampsia – high blood pressure while pregnant creates an increased risk for heart disease in the future.

Only knowing these causes and risk factors may help protect your heart, but it will not do away with your age or change your family history. A heart-healthy lifestyle, like quitting smoking or eating nutritious foods and being active, can help you reduce the risk of getting a heart attack. Managing any of the comorbid conditions can also work with your doctor to help take care of your heart health.

What are the complications of a heart attack?

Some complications of a heart attack are immediate while others develop later. Here are some of them:

Arrhythmias (abnormal rhythms of the heart): Irregular heartbeats which can be very fast, too slow in rate or erratic.
Heart failure: this is when the ability to pump by the heart is too weak, thereby not able to give enough blood supply to the body.
Heart valve problems: Direct effect of a heart attack can change how the heart valves open and close.
Stroke: Increased chances of getting a blood clot that would travel to the brain, resulting in a stroke; this occurs post heart attack.
Sudden cardiac arrest: A rare electrical malfunction in the heart, which suddenly causes the heart to stop beating.
Others include depression and anxiety: They almost always leave emotional and psychological effects behind that affect a person’s mental health.
Cardiogenic shock: Mediated by acute heart failure, it is a rare but serious disruption in which the heart suddenly can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands.
Mechanical complications: Within the heart, these may include severe structural damage: a ventricular septal defect (a hole in the wall separating the heart’s chambers) or free wall rupture (a tear in the heart muscle). The more severe the case, the more likely it is that treatment for a heart attack may be delayed.

How do you identify a heart attack?

Diagnosing heart attacks has been done by doctors in emergency cases. If you are suspected to be suffering from heart attack signs, the healthcare provider will:

– Check on the patient’s vital signs, pulse, oxygen blood levels, and blood pressure.

– Listen to the heart and lungs to find out if there are any unusual sounds.

– Ask the patient for a description of the symptoms and their progression.

– Data collection from eyewitnesses- If a single person was present at the time of the incident, he/she might be asked about his/her observation.

What tests are done to diagnose a heart attack?

Doctors use multiple tests to establish whether it is a heart attack:

Blood tests: One of the most reliable blood tests looks for cardiac troponin, which releases protein when heart muscle cell damage occurs. A high troponin level indicates a heart attack.
Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG): The very first test to be performed in the emergency department. It records the electrical activity of your heart and can outline any damage to the heart muscle or abnormal rhythms.
Echocardiogram: This is an ultrasound scan producing images of the heart, enabling doctors to assess heart functionality in pumping blood and whether the valves are working appropriately.
Coronary angiogram (heart catheterization): In a few words, this diagnostic test uses X-rays and contrast dye to demonstrate blockage of the coronary arteries.
Heart CT scan: Also used to rule out or define bumpy or hard arteries, these provide excellent and very detailed images of your heart and blood vessels.
Heart MRI: It uses a computer to capture and show very detailed images through highly magnetic fields, including blood flow through the heart while also highlighting areas of damage.
Exercise stress test: It is like a combined ECG, echocardiogram study, or nuclear scan that measures blood getting to the heart while monitoring how the heart responds to physical activity.
Nuclear heart scans: Involves injecting a small amount of radioactive dye into your bloodstream and using specialized imaging (SPECT or PET scans) to detect areas of the heart not getting enough blood or that have been injured.

Management and Treatment

Heart Attack Treatment

Restoration of blood flow to the affected heart muscle so as to halt further damage is the broad principle of heart attack treatment. Different approaches are used for this, from emergency medications to advanced surgical procedures. Treatment will depend upon the amount of the blockage, general health, and timeliness of getting care. Here is all the heart attack treatment information:

Supplementary Oxygen:

Supplemental oxygen is given if the patient cannot breathe or if the blood has low levels of oxygen. It is supplied either through a nasal cannula (a tube that goes just under the nose) or a face mask. The levels of oxygen in the blood rise, relieving the heart from extra burden and helping in the repair process.

Medications:

Anticoagulants: Whenever these drugs would-be administered at time marker zero, such drugs’ effectiveness would be winnowing: Thrombolytic drugs: “These drugs dissolve the clot in the blood vessels-endothelium/renal. This is done within the hours of 24 hours up to 6 hours of heart attack’s come,” Heart-blood thinners and aspirin prevent clotting.

Nitroglycerin: Administered or given for the relief of chest pain, nitroglycerin works by dilation to increase blood supply to the heart.

Thrombolytic agents-the clot buster medications. Such drugs work on the blood clots that cause obstruction in the coronary arteries. Often most useful when given in the initial 12 hours after a heart attack.

Antiarrhythmics: During heart attacks, the electrical signal in the heart gets disrupted causing arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats. The device will keep the heart rhythm in steadiness so that it does not face any complications that may lead to loss of a lifetime.

Pain management:

Very severe chest pain may also be relieved with a few other medicines including morphine, which relieves chest pain and reduces the stressful load on the heart.

Beta Blockers: It lowers the speed of the heart and decreased blood pressure and is helpful in lowering the heart’s oxygen demand so that the muscle can recover.
Antihypertensives: These drugs lower blood pressure so that no further damage is done to the heart and the workload on the organ is reduced.
Statins: Statins help to stabilize plaque deposits that grow within the arteries, lower the concentration of cholesterol, and lead to a lower risk of having future heart attacks.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI):

This is otherwise called percutaneous coronary intervention or angioplasty, where doctors open blocked coronary arteries. A flexible, thin tube called a catheter is then inserted into the blood vessel, usually through the groin or wrist, and maneuvered through to the blocked artery with a small balloon at the tip. Balloon is then inflated at the tip of the catheter to push the plaque against the artery walls and relieve occlusion.

At the site of blockage, a little amount of wire mesh called stent is placed in all cases so that it keeps the artery open and does not allow further narrowing.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)

Speed is a critical element of such operations and is usually measured in ‘door-to-balloon time’ i.e. the time elapsed between a patient arriving at the hospital and blood flow being restored via PCI. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is also called bypass surgery or open-heart surgery since it occurs when coronary arteries are very blocked, and PCI is not enough.

In this manner, a normal blood vessel is taken from the chest, arm, or leg of the patient, and it is redirected or bypassed through the blocked artery, allowing its blood to go directly into the heart muscle. Multiple bypass surgeries would include a single, double, triple, or quadruple bypass according to the extent of the disease in a person.

Post-Treatment Monitoring and Care:

Patients are often monitored for complications such as rhythm disturbances, pain and others, during the ICU admission after surgery. Long-term care involves lifestyle modification such as quitting smoking, having a heart-healthy diet, exercise, cardiac rehabilitation, and a medical regimen for long-term maintenance. The most critical first step in preventing injury to the heart is restoring blood flow. The sooner it is instituted, the greater the likelihood of healing and of avoiding complications with the heart in the long term.

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Undoubtedly, after the incident of a heart attack, one is frequently at an increased risk of having another heart attack; thus, the health provider often suggests measures such as continued observation, tests, and treatments with the idea of diminishing this risk. Follow-up care may entail:

Heart scans: Heart scans help in assessing damage to your heart-they may include tests like those done during heart attack diagnosis and investigating residual effects; they also can detect early evidence of cardiac and circulatory problems that would otherwise increase the risk of another heart attack.

Stress tests: These tests are done in conjunction with some scans during activity to assess heart problems that become apparent only at maximum exertion.

Cardiac rehabilitation: An organized program aiming to promote health and lifestyle for recovery while helping to reduce another heart attack risk.

Conclusion

Your heart is the engine of your body; hence, it deserves to be cared for. Dispur Polyclinic and Hospitals, located in Guwahati, has a dedicated group of expert healthcare professionals who offer full heart care, from early detection and diagnosis to personalized treatment plans. The hospital supports you with all the advanced technology in medicine and compassion along every step of the journey, whether you are controlling risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes, recovering from a heart attack, or simply seeking preventive care.

Do not let the signs increase in intensity– by then, it might just be too late. Do what makes your heart healthy; do what makes you thrive. Call now and book your appointment at Dispur Polyclinic and Hospitals.